AI Summary
5 min read"Those lights will be in me forever." That is how Brent, a lifelong hunter and filmmaker, sums up the most powerful moment of his first moose hunt in northern Manitoba — not the kill, but the northern lights that lit the boat ride back to camp after the work was done. In this companion podcast to his film 12 in '26, Brent and host Josh Landridge unpack the nine-day adventure, focusing on the practical psychology of making the transition from behind the camera to in front of it, and the specific lessons in patience, preparation, and trust that made the difference between a story and a failed attempt.
The Shift from Filmmaker to Shooter
Brent spent most of his career documenting other people's hunts, a role with its own distinct mindset. "If it don't happen on camera, then it didn't happen," he says. As a cinematographer, he was always working — first up, last to bed, eating cold meals while filming everyone else. The hunt began long before leaving camp. When the opportunity came to be the shooter, the psychological shift was profound. The pressure inverted: instead of needing to capture whatever happened, he now had to make something happen while being captured.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:00) **Trip Origins & The Shooter Mindset** - Brent explains how the Manitoba moose hunt was conceived as a dream project and how his mindset shifted from cameraman to shooter.
- 2 (08:06) **Logistics & Packing Priorities** - The massive logistical challenge of a remote fly-in hunt and the trade-offs between gear and comfort.
- 3 (10:48) **Meeting Craig McCarthy & A Typical Hunting Day** - How Brent met his outfitter and the patient, deliberate rhythm of calling moose in the Canadian wilderness.
- 4 (14:04) **Rifle Setup & Zeroing On-Site** - Brent’s choice of rifle, caliber, and the critical step of re-checking zero after travel.
- 5 (16:12) **Moose Calling: Strategy & Patience** - The counterintuitive method of calling and leaving, then returning hours later to find a bull.
- 6 (18:59) **Craig’s ESP & The Trust Factor** - A story that didn’t make the film, illustrating Craig’s deep knowledge and why Brent never questioned him.
- 7 (21:36) **First Sightings & The Scale of the Land** - The first day’s glimpse of a bull, the vastness of public land, and the feeling of absolute remoteness.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Join Brent Reaves and Josh Spielmaker in this Q&A interview to hear behind the scenes details from Brent's Manitoba Moose hunt that didn't make the film. Brent chronicles the trip from start to finish and shares some surprising insights gleaned from his experience. He also answers some viewer questions about the hunt.
Watch the film now on MeatEater's YouTube channel.
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